The Cliff Richard Appreciation Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Jarleboy, Jan 1, 2020.

  1. Retro Music Man

    Retro Music Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I first became a fan of Cliff around 2 years ago, and picked up Platinum Collection, a 3CD set released by EMI in 2005. Unfortunately, it's full of those terrible Keith Bessey remasters with metallic sounding fake stereo.

    So then I hopped on eBay and purchased 40 Golden Greats and Private Collection 1979 - 1988. I'm pretty happy with the track listing and mastering on both of them, although I have to give the edge to 40 Golden Greats in the sound quality department. It is absolutely outstanding, and was probably compiled from the original masters. Private Collection, on the other hand, is just your typical late '80s thin sounding disc. Not bad, but nothing really special.
     
  2. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I can´t help myself - I stick my oars in whether they are wanted or not! :agree: Glad you took my meandering thoughts they were intended. I hope you´ll enjoy your new albums. (And feel free to my favourite Cliff album, "ROCK´N´ROLL JUVENILE" (1979) to your collection. It´s a corker! :edthumbs:

    He, he... Cliff has quite a lot of schmaltzy ballads, but he does the better ones proud.
     
  3. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Once again, I can recommend a US collection mastered by Steve Hoffman. It covers more or less the same ground as "PRIVATE COLLECTION", but it sounds a lot better. It´s called "CLIFF RICHARD THE COLLECTION 1976-1994". Cliff Richard - The Cliff Richard Collection 1976 - 1994

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  4. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    I must have been more sensible back then. I decided I didn't need the box set. And didn't get it. Got the relevant separate discs though. If it was released now, I expect I'd have it on order.
     
  5. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    All excellent. :)
     
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  6. Ted Mooney

    Ted Mooney Eclectic Music Fan

    Location:
    Merthyr Tydfil
     
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  7. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Sic transit gloria mundi... Well, maybe quite not that dramatic. I am glad I bought it - it costs a fortune now.
     
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  8. When In Rome

    When In Rome It's far from being all over...

    Location:
    UK
    I finally got it on eBay about 10 years after release. There was no 'Cliff Commemorative Gold Coin' included and they wanted £100 for it or best offer. I offered £75. No dice. I left it at that then they got back in touch and said 'Deal'!! I went for it! Then because I'd got 25% off with a 'best offer' eBay gave me a £10 voucher for my next purchase!! No kidding!
    To be fair, the best CD's were released separately (which I subsequently sold) but I'm glad I took the plunge anyway...
     
  9. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    And even the stand-alone CDs are quite expensive by now.
     
  10. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I have been thinking a lot lately... (And that doesn´t happen too frequently! :sigh:) Anyway, the subject this time was: Who was the best producer Cliff ever worked with?

    * NORRIE PARAMOR, with the added allure of some Nashville professionals like Bob Morgan and Billy Sherrill? (Towards the end of his tenure, the arrangements were often done by other people.) Norrie Paramor was already quite experienced by the time he started producing Cliff and the Drifters, and his forte was perhaps not teenage rock´n´roll music, though he did an excellent job producing and arranging the songs. The sound was always warm and clear, though perhaps not as pioneering and groundbreaking as e.g. George Martin.

    * DAVID MacKAY took over from Paramor in 1972, and his sound was soft, and often featured brass and strings. Sometimes that worked out very well with Cliff´s music - listen to "TAKE ME HIGH" and "THE 31ST OF FEBRUARY STREET", for instance. But, as Bruce once cynically remarked, only one Top Ten hit was made during his time with Cliff - "POWER TO ALL OUR FRIENDS". So he was dropped.

    From then on, various members or friends of The Shadows took their turn producing Cliff. Some were produced by Hank, Bruce and John Farrar, before the reins were handed over to:

    * BRUCE WELCH produced most of the records of Cliff´s first big comeback, "I´M NEARLY FAMOUS" through to "GREEN LIGHT". Great albums, indeed, and they sound wonderful. Bruce breathed life into some diverse songs - listen to "MISS YOU NIGHTS" and "DEVIL WOMAN", "EASE ALONG" and "MY KINDA LIFE". Even though he didn´t arrange everything, he did produce them - and often found the songs. His importance during these years of Cliff´s career cannot be overstated - perhaps not bordering on genius, but very often inspired. So many great songs and productions came out of those years.

    * ALAN TARNEY took over the mantle intermittently from 1979 - according to Alan himself - to 2001. And as I have stated before, Alan Tarney´s sound was exciting, warm and often interesting - but it did have its limitations. I love his work from 1979 to 1989, but by 1987, the programmed drumming and sounds in general made the songs sound overly polished and samey. Don´t get me wrong - I love many of those songs. But there were limitations. The emphasis was on pop, danceable pop, and less on rock´n´roll. Fine with me, but I like Cliff to sound a bit raw now and again.

    * CRAIG PRUESS recorded a few albums with Cliff. The first one had an exciting, modern and very full sound. But by "SILVER", I felt the fire and inspiration had been watered down, and many of the songs suffered from a bombastic, overwrought and sometimes cloying production. ("GOLDEN DAYS ARE OVER" comes to mind.) I am not knocking his work - there were many good moments. But Cliff had moved away from the sound that I preferred.

    Having considered all these talented producers, I went back and picked my favourites. Both Bruce Welch and Alan Tarney brought lots of magic moments to Cliff´s career, but I discovered that there were two other names that don´t get a mention as often as the others.

    What is my favourite Cliff album? "ROCK´N´ROLL JUVENILE", as many of you will know. Another favourite is "SMALL CORNERS", a glorious album that often gets dismissed because of its religious content. The two albums have one thing in common: Both were produced, or co-produced, by Cliff himself. "SMALL CORNERS" reportedly emerged as a Cliff Richard production because Bruce refused to produce a "religious album". That may or not be true, but that´s the rumour. The second album was produced by Terry Britten because they felt that Bruce´s work had stagnated a little bit, and that they wanted to try something fresh. (Would have been nice to tell Bruce about that decision, don´t you think, Cliff?)

    My point is that Cliff has worked with quite a few dependable and talented producers and arrangers. Add to that Cliff´s own contributions. "SMALL CORNERS" is perhaps Cliff´s most varied and best-sounding album of his career. Think about it - you go from an a cappella hymn, via country songs, ballads to pure rock´n´roll within the confines of one single album. It´s perhaps his most varied album, yet the sound is cohesive. Impressive. And Cliff did it "all on his lonesome".

    "ROCK´N´ROLL JUVENILE" is not quite as varied, but the sound is fresh, earthy and very cohesive, as well. (Give or take the odd added single. which was not really a part of the album as such. But still great.) Those two albums are my picks as the best sounding albums of Cliff´s career. "SONGS FROM HEATHCLIFF" and "SOMETHING´S GOING ON" both sound great, but I still feel that the two mentioned above are my favourites as far as production and arrangements are concerned.

    What are your feelings on this matter? Who do you think brought the best out of Cliff in their production work? It´s hard to argue against Norrie Paramor when you hear the "ME AND MY SHADOWS" album or songs like "I´M AFRAID TO GO HOME" etc, or against Bruce Welch when you hear "MISS YOU NIGHTS", "COUNT ME OUT" or the whole "I´M NEARLY FAMOUS" album and so much more.

    And, on the other hand, who was the least successful producer in Cliff´s career? It´s hard to pick on one person, of course, but I feel that Peter Wolf did NOT do Cliff any favours with the sound - and songs! - on "REAL AS I WANNA BE" in 1998. I do repeat myself, but the title track sounds fresh to me, and sounds as something Bruce Welch, Terry Britten or Cliff himself could have done. Reminiscent of "COUNT ME OUT", when the composer and arranger was in a better mood... But that´s just me. :agree:

    So what are your picks? Discuss. :wave:
     
  11. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Hmmm, you got me wondering...

    They were different for different times, and for that reason, I'd like to only consider from 1976 onwards, when Cliff became an 'album artist'. Bruce was great, but became 'samey', Tarney, great again, new sound, but became 'samey' by WANTED, Michael Omartin on SOMETHING'S GOIN' ON' was just right for that album. Cliff himself with Terry Britten made ROCK N ROLL JUVENILE sound great. So, I don't think I have an answer!
     
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  12. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    He, he... Yes, that´s an excellent song! :agree:

    I think the answer is that they all contributed to Cliff´s music. I wonder whether I would want to miss any of their input. Perhaps I could live without a Peter Wolf album... :p
     
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  13. Tim Cooper

    Tim Cooper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southampton UK
    Well this is an interesting one.
    One of the things I do on any album is always look at the credits. Not just the producer, but backing musicians, sound engineers, maybe the tea boy! I just find it fascinating.
    I can't really say who the best producer was/is. We all have our favourite albums, so with your favourite album does that mean it was Cliff's best producer?
    I think really Cliff moved with the times, changing producers which kept things fresh. Yes, maybe a few mistakes on the way, probably upset a few people also (Bruce!). But credit for trying different musical directions.
    I really think that the one person who should take a lot of credit for the change of producers, and a lot of Cliff's recording decisions is the late David Bryce. He seemed to be very on the ball, always there in the background and responsible for a lot of these decisions.
    Agree with the "Real" album, apart from the "Vita Mia" track which I love.
    But then you had the publicity with the "Can't Keep This Feeling In" track, which was released under a different name to Cliff, got airplay, then no airplay when dj's realised it was Cliff.
    We should also mention Dave Cooke, who co-produced with Cliff and wrote with Cliff on a few tracks, mainly "B" sides.
    Also Paul Moesll, who produced, co-produced with Cliff one of the biggest selling Christmas records of all time, "Mistletoe and Wine", he co-arranged that one, along with "Saviours Day", the Christmas album, "The Album" (which was no 1 in Uk).
    Also the brilliant "My Kinda Life" remix album.
    I agree with comments about the "Small Corners" album. How it is a complete mixture of songs, yet Cliff produced it brilliantly. I would suspect though, Cliff would have made the most of the talanted musicians, sound engineers around him for ideas on that one.

    What would be interesting (maybe up to you Chris Lane) if someone compiled a list of producers in order that Cliff has used over the years.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2020
  14. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Many interesting thoughts here. I should have mentioned Dave Cooke, who was responsible for producing - along with Cliff - B-sides and "extra" tracks during the 80s and 90s. I don´t enjoy the sound of them as much as those done by the main producers - sure, there are wonderful examples of when they really pulled it off, but I think that they too often stuck to an ethos of "less is more" - and then added "some more". Those songs often sound a bit dull, I fear. With some very honourable exceptions, of course.

    I should also have remembered Paul Moessl. He continued in the Craig Pruess direction. Often it was overkill, like most of the "THE ALBUM" project and, eh, the "MORE TO LIFE" single. So I didn´t like the general direction in which he pulled Cliff during his tenure. But there were splendid moments.

    I do agree with your thought that those different producers enabled Cliff to move with the times and stay relatively relevant. His career would have ended either in 1975, 1979 or 1985 if it hadn´t have been for those producers and what they brought to the sound of Cliff´s music. Kudos to them.

    And yes, I can imagine Cliff consulting his brilliant musicians when he was in the producer´s chair. Even so, he did produce lots of B-sides and other artists - Marietta, Nutshell/Network 3, Craig Hewitt and quite a few others. To less than outstanding success, I have to add.

    But I think Cliff´s producer prowess has been overlooked a bit. The man is given a lot of flak for "coasting along", scoring the odd hits here and there, but I do think there is substance to a lot of his music. Especially when he was involved with the production and the arrangements himself.
     
  15. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Search, and ye shall find! I came across this Danish single a while back, but today I broke down and ordered it:

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    My copy comes without the picture sleeve, but I can live with that. :agree: Imagine the Danish, staunch supporters of all things Cliff, releasing so many singles in 1973! Not only did they release "POWER TO ALL OUR FRIENDS", "HELP IT ALONG"/"TOMORROW RISING" and "TAKE ME HIGH", but they also added single releases of "LIFE" and "WINNING" from the "TAKE ME HIGH" soundtrack. /The latter two were both A-sides, adding "THE WORD IS LOVE" and "MIDNIGHT BLUE" as B-sides, respectively.)

    In addition, they also released these two tracks above as a single, with "ASHES TO ASHES" as the A-side. They were surely the runts of the litter from the Eurovision recordings, and it says a lot about Cliff´s popularity among our friendly neighbours to the south in 1973 that this release was made possible. Again, I wonder what the sales figures were like... They can´t have been huge sellers, but there must have been an incentive to go on releasing songs recorded in 1973.

    It´s a mystery to me.

    And, of course, I had to have the single. Maybe I can get hold of a copy with the picture sleeve one day. I shall, of course, buy it again. Call me Jarle "DoubleDip".
     
  16. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Another find... A 2019 recording by Cliff that I never knew about! Before you get too excited, this is a duet with South-African/German singer Howard Carpendale. In German. Even so, I kind of liked this song. Especially the "Sing it, Cliff!" bit. :agree:

     
  17. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    A little thought experiment: Have you ever wondered what Cliff Richard songs would be the most unsuitable for single release? "MORE TO LIFE" springs to mind, even though I find that I no longer dislike it as much as I used to. The "MILLENNIUM PRAYER" single also looms high for me, though, of course, I was proven wrong when it turned out to be a huge hit. What do I know? There are other single choices I wonder about - good or even excelletn songs that don´t scream HIT SINGLE! "CAN´T TAKE THe HURT ANYMORE" and even "WHEN TWO WORLDS DRIFT APART", as much as it pains me to admit it, are hardly commercial songs. Neither was "FLYING MACHINE".

    But I think the least likely single choice would be runts-of-the-litter from the bunch of songs that were candidates for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. Four of them are great sonsg for Cliff, IMO - "POWER TO ALL OR FRIENDS", "COME BACK BILLE JO", "HELP IT ALONG" and "TOMORROW RISING" are all good songs in my book. But the remaining two songs have few redeemable quaities, I think.

    Yet these were, as I mentioned earlier, chosen for single release in Denmark, placing "ASHES TO ASHES" on the A-side and relegating "DAYS OF LOVE" to the les stellar B-side. I received my copy yesterday, and I repost the phots. (There is also a picture sleeve, found on Discogs, but my copy came with a generic paper sleeve.)

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    This single is my choice for most unnecessary and surprisng single release, along with the Greek release of "BIG NEWS" as an A-side.

    What are your choices? Feel free to provoke... :righton:
     
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  18. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    I think NEVER LET GO was a poor choice, there were better available options on the album 'The Album', then THE WEDDING from 'Songs from Heathcliff', 'THE MIRACLE from 'Real As I Wanna Be', and I wouldn't have chosen SOMETHING IS GOING ON from 'Something's Goin' On' as a first choice either. So, all of these, to my mind were unnecessary, but also that there were better choices available at that time. Was there anything better available at the time of ASHES TO ASHES? I don't know, I seem to recall there were some tracks recorded but remained unreleased from that period until 'Lost and Found', I think.
     
  19. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I agree about most of your choices - most of them were not cut out to be single material. A typical example is "THE WEDDING", which is an OK song that works very well within the framework of the musical, but falls apart on its own. "THE MIRACLE" was an OK and sort of catchy song, but not quite strong enough to make it as a single. I love "SOMETHING´S GOIN´ ON", and I would have kept it as a single - but perhaps as the second release after "WHAT CAR". The album had an embarrassment of riches in terms of single candidates.

    "NEVER LET GO" is a perfect choice. It´s an unremarkable, rather dull song that never goes anywhere, IMO, and totally unsuited for a single release.

    Well... The UK saw three 1973 single A-sides: "POWER TO ALL OUR FRIENDS" c/w "COME BACK BILLIE JO", "HELP IT ALONG" and "TOMORROW RISING" as a double A-side, coupled with the two B-sides "ASHES TO ASHES " and "DAYS OF LOVE" and finally the great "TAKE ME HIGH" c/w "CELESTIAL HOUSES" single. As far as I a concerned, these are all strong releases, and they all charted.

    The Danes have always been great supporters of Cliff´s, and they released further singles, probably over the years 1973 and 1974, in "ASHES TO ASHES"/"DAYS OF LOVE", "LIFE"/"THE WORD IS LOVE" and "WINNING"/"MIDNIGHT BLUE". Again, I wonder how such a glut of single releases would have affected his career - and whether any of these singles actually charted. I have found no record of them having done that.

    Do you know, I don´t remember the songs from "LOST & FOUND" anymore! There was, I think, a 1973 cover of Bruce Welch´s "SWEET LOVING WAYS", the B-side of his original single version of "PLEASE MR PLEASE", covered by Olivia to great success. I remember that song as being rather good, but probably not good enough to be a single.

    Interesting thoughts as always, Anthony! :agree:
     
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  20. Phil_Rocks

    Phil_Rocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Being listening to a lot of Cliff, switched off the tv it's all doom and gloom, needed some escapism. I'm nearly famous has been a loop for a few days now, i was thinking you see artists go out and tour and play a classic album live from start to finish and was wondering if Cliff would ever do something like this and if the fans would like it. I can only think of one tour where he played the whole album and that was bold as brass and was more of a promotional tool if anything, but if Cliff were to tour a classic album which one would you like to hear live from start to finish? for me I'm nearly famous and RnR Juvenile would be great, is there a definitive classic Cliff album? does Cliff have a pet sounds or a dark side of the moon album that is a defined as a classic Cliff album?
     
  21. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    To answer your last question first, I personally don´t think Cliff has a "PET SOUNDS " or "DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" in his career. The two you mention are probably the most likely candidates - both are great albums.

    A good idea, though. A slightly amended one might be to ask him to perform songs from 1975 to 1982 only for one tour. No, he wouldn´t do that, but I´d go anywhere to hear him.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2020
  22. Phil_Rocks

    Phil_Rocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    You got me thinking of setlists now for the 1975 - 1982 tour. :D
     
  23. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Good! :righton: Let´s plan it!
     
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  24. Tim Cooper

    Tim Cooper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southampton UK
    Fantastic idea.
    Can't see it ever happening, but if we get prepared with a set list, we could always pass it on to Cliff!
     
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  25. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Yeah! :edthumbs: Imagine hearing "EASE ALONG", "MONDAY THRU FRIDAY", "GREEN LIGHT", "KEEP ON LOOKING" etc., of course including "WHEN TWO WORLDS DRIFT PART", live! It would have been fantastic!
     
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